The Kent Crusaders played and lost at Cardiff Celts in both League and Patrons Cup ties this weekend. The Celts have won all their league games of the season and made short work of Crusaders in the league game Saturday.
“We got outplayed in every aspect of the game. They put us under pressure and we made mistakes, mentally and physically. Out man to man defence wasn’t aggressive, we didn’t execute on offence, and we didn’t play hard”, said Crusaders head coach Mads Olesen.
Even the return of top scorer Robbie Parker couldn’t prevent the home team from walking away with an easy victory, as the game ended with a lopsided score of…
“Luckily the double header gave us a chance to regroup and talk to players individually in the hotel that same night and the next morning,” said coach Olesen, who put the over-night stay to good use. “We got a lot of issues worked out and it was a very different team that took the court on Sunday. In the defensive end we played as a unit, and a few tactical changes in the offensive end made the baskets come much easier. On defence we got it right away and offensively we really started clicking in the second half.”
Crusaders were down by 14 at half time, but the game wasn’t decided until the last minute, as Crusaders kept clawing away at the Cardiff lead, and brought it down to 5 in the last minute. Coach Olesen thought Crusaders could have come away with the game, had it been a little longer: “As it’s been said, we didn’t loose that game, we just ran out of time”.
Crusaders have now lost three league games in a row, but the losses has come against the top of the league, as the combined record of the teams Crusaders has played is ten wins and one loss. Crusaders assistant coach Toby Chant was pleased with the effort put in on Sunday “We showed what we can do with sustained concentration and effort against one of the best teams in the league.”
Loading ...
Entries (RSS)